In September, New Ipswich held an auction for several town properties but did not properly hold public hearings before the sale — steps the town is now taking to rectify.
On Sept. 27, the town was scheduled to sell six town-owned properties, according to Town Administrator Debbie Deaton. Voters had previously adopted legislation that gave the Select Board authority to buy and sell property. However, the RSA that grants that authority has specific rules about the auction of property taken by tax deed, which were not initially followed.
Deaton said the town did not discover the lapse until shortly before the auction was scheduled. The RSA requires the town to hold two public hearings, within specific time frames, and also has a specific time frame for the town to make the decision whether to sell the property. Those procedures were not followed for three tax-deeded properties up for auction in September.
Deaton said one property was removed from the auction, but the sale of two others went forward, though buyers were informed the sales would not be final until the completion of the public hearing process.
“The purchasers are aware of this. They were made aware of this prior to the auction,” Deaton said.
The properties in question are two pieces of undeveloped land, Map 11, lot 50, and Map 15b, lot 25.
Map 11, lot 50 is about .3 acres of landlocked area behind 621 Turnpike Road. The wooded lot is assessed for $66,500 and sold for $500 at auction.
Map 15b, lot 25 is a 1.8-acre lot located along the Souhegan River along Route 123, close to the Greenville town line. The lot slopes down from the road toward the river and is heavily wooded. It was assessed for $77,300 and sold for $2,000.
Deaton said the process that should have been followed prior to the auction was a public hearing on the sale of the properties, a second public hearing held at least 10 and not more than 14 days later, and then a decision made after at least seven and not more than 10 days after that.
The town has scheduled the first public hearing on the sale of the properties on Nov. 18, at 7 p.m., in the town offices. The second public hearing is scheduled Dec. 2.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.